HemisFair hotel restrictions now in City Council hands

Over the weekend, legislation to allow HemisFair planners to reconfigure parkland without a public vote finally made it out of the Texas House. Read the story here.

But some did not.

What became known as the “80/20 compromise,” in which 20 percent of HemisFair land can be used for tourism-related development, i.e. a hotel, will head to the City Council soon.

State Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, struck the deal with the hotel industry in April, in the bill’s early stages. Long story short, the bill died. State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, composed her own version which gave more freedom to a potential hotel developer than Villarreal’s version. That one died, too, I think. I’m actually not sure.

So anyway, State Rep. Roland Gutierrez agreed to tack on the legislation about reconfiguring parkland, but not the hotel restrictions. Villarreal insisted on the restrictions, and finally agreed to let them go after Mayor Julián Castro assured the lawmaker that the matter would be taken up by the City Council. Castro’s letter is attached.

“Please know that I will vigorously lead the effort for San Antonio City Council to approve your suggestion to record a deed restriction regarding hotel construction in HemisFair Park,” Castro wrote.

The next logical question: Will hotel lobbyists turn their attention to the City Council?

It’s their interference in the legislative process that, quite frankly, put the whole thing in jeopardy. I guess that’s what lobbyists do; it’s part of what makes the legislative process so exciting and predictable, I guess.

If you aren’t familiar, the HemisFair legislation is two-fold:

The reason for the legislation is so that HemisFair planners can reconfigure park land without having to take the issue to voters every single time. Park land would increase to nearly 20 usable acres, up from 6.5 acres currently.

As Villarreal was drafting his bill, he noticed a paragraph in the master plan that mentioned hotel development. Initially, he put language in the bill that prohibited hotels, because HemisFair should be a park for locals first and tourists second. But he met with hoteliers and struck the “80/20 compromise.”

Van de Putte’s version had its own meddling, by San Antonio construction mogul David Zachry. His grandfather, H.B. Zachry, built the Hilton Palacio del Rio hotel for HemisFair ’68. A Zachry-built hotel for this generation, for HemisFair’s rebirth, would add to the family legacy. Read the Downtown Dispatches column for more.

Now, the “80/20 compromise” has left the Texas Legislature, where it was tossed around like a rag doll, and lands before City Council.

I wonder, to what extent, council members will be hearing from the hotel industry.